Thread: Never say Never

I guess I’m fairly new at cruising but just completed my third cruise in the last year. I’ve been lurking around here for the last six months or so and I first wanted to say thanks to all of you for the great trips and information. I wish I had found this site before my first cruise.

My wife started a new job yesterday. Last week we realized that she wouldn’t have the opportunity for a vacation for some time so we decided we needed to go somewhere warm for a long weekend. Last minute air fare to St. Somewhere isn’t cheap. We looked at a number of options but the best deal seemed to be a three day cruise on Carnival Sensation to Nassau.

Several years ago I spent a long week on Grand Bahama Island; been there done that. I assumed Nassau would be the same and never really wanted to go back to the Bahamas. I had also decided that I never wanted to go on a three day cruise since you can’t get past the Bahamas in three days. Anyway, the itinerary fit our needs, the weather forecast was perfect, and the price was right. We lowered our expectations and booked on Tuesday for a Thursday departure.

To my surprise Carnival Sensation has just come out of dry dock with a major refresh. Everything was like new, crisp and clean. Service was great and the food was good. We docked in Nassau at noon on Friday and departed Saturday at 6:00 AM. It was nice to not be rushed in port. We did not book any excursions in Nassau. I had read several trip reports on CLF and had my own agenda. We walked to the Hilton British Colonial hotel and paid the $20/pp for a day pass and stayed on the beach most of the day. We then did a self guided walking tour (got the idea from a CLF post) and a quick stop a t Senior Frogs before heading back to the ship for dinner. After dinner took a $4/pp cab ride to Atlantis (no admission after 6:00, I think). It is worth the trip just to check out the hardware docked in the marina. The architecture, the fountains, the “Dig”, the grounds, everything is impressive. Saturday the weather was again perfect; 80 degrees, sunny, with a light SW breeze. All in all it is what you make of it. We turned one of our least expensive trips of the year into one of the most memorable and would not hesitate to do it again (and probably will).

WOW Welcome to CLF. What a wonderful review and so detailed, thanks. Glad you decided to join us Please stay with us and enjoy our great members, then when the time comes we can talk about your next cruise.

Welcome to CLF!

Thanks for your report. Getting a pass for the Hilton British Colonial is a great way to spend the day in Nassau ... glad to know it's still the way I remember it!

What a delightful way to spend the time before your wife's new job! I am so happy that you found cruising to be to your liking...there's really nothing like it! Just wait till you do a cruise with sea days and you can enjoy the true beauty of cruising.

I welcome you, too and hope you will visit us often.

Thanks for sharing your trip with us and the update on The Carnival Sensation

CHEERS

Welcome to a fab site. This site has it all and the most friendly people you could meet. What a nice trip you had and all on the spur of the moment. Last time we went to Nassau, we swam w/ the dolphins & I got to ride on one. that was a dream come true for me !! we do alot of tours on our own too, depends what island we're at.

Yes, the ships parked outside the Atlantis certainly are .... extravagant to say the least. Did you check out the aquarium? I felt that it was very low key but really impressive.

Yes, they call the aquarium "the dig". It is not as impressive as the Georgia Aquarium but still very cool to see.

Welcome. This is a great place.
Sounds like you had a nice trip. I love the British Colonial Hotel.

Sounds like a fun time. Now you can get ideas for your next cruise.